Very good though a little dry
User Profile
Currently an International Studies/Software Development student with a love of speculative fiction. I also read a decent amount of nonfiction focusing on politics and philosophy. I read in French, Spanish, and (mostly) English with the potential for a foray into Esperanto.
Catch any full reviews or other random posts at my blog below: specual.me
My mastodon account: Humbly7362@todon.eu
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Frecklemaid's books
2024 Reading Goal
33% complete! Frecklemaid has read 10 of 30 books.
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Frecklemaid wants to read The Black Speculative Arts Movement by John Jennings
The Black Speculative Arts Movement by John Jennings, Sheree Renée Thomas, Sherese Francis, and 22 others
Frecklemaid started reading Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Both a recounting of trauma and its impacts, as well as a retelling of a Nigerian fable. The main character's …
Frecklemaid started reading La fille de la supérette by 村田沙耶香
La fille de la supérette by 村田沙耶香
Convenience Store Woman (Japanese: コンビニ人間, Hepburn: Konbini Ningen) is a 2016 novel by Japanese author Sayaka Murata. It captures the …
Frecklemaid finished reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Frecklemaid wants to read Abolish the Family by Sophie Lewis
Abolish the Family by Sophie Lewis
What if family were not the only place you might hope to feel safe, loved, cared for and accepted?
What …
Frecklemaid started reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
On the planet Winter, there is no gender. The Gethenians can become male or female during each mating cycle, and …
Frecklemaid started reading One less car by Zachary Mooradian Furness
Frecklemaid finished reading The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Frecklemaid finished reading Sailing to Byzantium/Seven American Nights (Tor Doubles, No 10) by Gene Wolfe
Frecklemaid started reading Sailing to Byzantium/Seven American Nights (Tor Doubles, No 10) by Gene Wolfe
Frecklemaid finished reading Sailing To Byzantium by Robert Silverberg
Frecklemaid reviewed The Invention of the Jewish People by Shlomo Sand
Extremely thorough analysis of Jewish history
4 stars
I read this book because given the current conflicts in Israel-Palestine I thought I should learn more about how it got that way. This book is a comprehensive analysis of Jewish history and systematically pulls apart the Zionist mythistory of an ethnically cohesive, nomadic Jewish people returning to a long-lost homeland. It does so not by spending the whole book pulling apart Zionism (though that is peppered throughout), but by looking at the evidence available as to the origin of Jewish peoples, their migratory patterns and where a strong likelihood of mass proselytising occurred. Certainly, this was a bit of a dry read. It is every sense an academic text but if you've managed to make it through even part of a humanities degree you'll probably be able to smash this. For me personally, it further cemented my unfavorable opinion of Israeli statehood as it addressed the 'justification' for the …
I read this book because given the current conflicts in Israel-Palestine I thought I should learn more about how it got that way. This book is a comprehensive analysis of Jewish history and systematically pulls apart the Zionist mythistory of an ethnically cohesive, nomadic Jewish people returning to a long-lost homeland. It does so not by spending the whole book pulling apart Zionism (though that is peppered throughout), but by looking at the evidence available as to the origin of Jewish peoples, their migratory patterns and where a strong likelihood of mass proselytising occurred. Certainly, this was a bit of a dry read. It is every sense an academic text but if you've managed to make it through even part of a humanities degree you'll probably be able to smash this. For me personally, it further cemented my unfavorable opinion of Israeli statehood as it addressed the 'justification' for the existence of the state and for its ethnocentric, genocidal actions. Even if you disagree with me on those points, I think this is worth a read as an interesting history of the Jewish people, though be aware Sand does not make his own beliefs a secret either.